Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday, 5 June 2026 launched a mega plantation drive and inaugurated a series of Namo Oxygen Parks across the capital, framing the initiative as a mass public movement under the city's clean and green mission. The announcements coincided with World Environment Day, the annual global observance held every 5 June to promote environmental awareness and action.

Posting on X in Hindi, CM Gupta said: 'विश्व पर्यावरण दिवस पर हम मेगा प्लांटेशन ड्राइव और 18 नमो ऑक्सीजन पार्कों के उद्घाटन के साथ स्वच्छ, ग्रीन और स्वस्थ दिल्ली मिशन को जनअभियान बना रहे हैं।' — translated: 'On World Environment Day, we are turning the Clean, Green and Healthy Delhi Mission into a people's movement with a mega plantation drive and the inauguration of 18 Namo Oxygen Parks.' She also urged every resident of Delhi to join the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (One Tree in Mother's Name) campaign and plant at least one sapling.

Context

The Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign was originally launched nationwide by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on World Environment Day 2024, encouraging citizens to plant a tree as a tribute to their mothers. CM Gupta's call on Thursday extends that national campaign into a Delhi-specific drive, tying it to the broader 'Clean, Green and Healthy Delhi' mission her administration has championed since taking office.

Delhi has long grappled with some of the worst urban air quality in the world, driven by vehicular emissions, industrial activity, crop stubble burning in neighbouring states, and rapid construction. Large-scale tree plantation efforts have become a recurring policy response, particularly around high-visibility dates such as World Environment Day.

Policy Backdrop

The inauguration of Namo Oxygen Parks reflects a strategy to create dedicated green lungs within the densely populated urban fabric of the capital. Such parks are designed to increase the city's green cover, improve localised air quality, and provide residents with accessible public green spaces. The naming convention aligns the initiative with the broader national branding associated with Prime Minister Modi's environmental programmes.

Urban greening in Delhi has historically faced challenges around land availability, maintenance funding, and — critically — the survival rate of saplings planted during mass drives. Environmental advocates have consistently argued that post-plantation monitoring is as important as the planting event itself.

Stakeholders and Impact

Delhi's roughly 2 crore residents stand as the primary stakeholders, particularly those in densely built neighbourhoods with limited green cover. Environmental volunteers and resident welfare associations are expected to serve as ground-level partners in sustaining the plantation drive beyond the symbolic World Environment Day moment.

The initiative also carries political significance: the BJP-led Delhi government is keen to demonstrate tangible environmental action in a city where air quality has been a persistent electoral and governance flashpoint. Aligning with a campaign launched by PM Modi reinforces the ideological and organisational continuity between the state and central governments.

What's Next

The immediate focus will be on whether the saplings planted during the mega drive receive adequate follow-up care to ensure survival through Delhi's harsh summer months. Expansion of the Namo Oxygen Parks model to other parts of the city and integration with the broader urban forestry plan will be key indicators of the initiative's long-term ambition. Independent environmental groups are likely to track tree survival rates and green-cover data as benchmarks against which the campaign's actual impact can be measured.